District attorney drops charges against tire-slashing suspect

Published: Saturday, February 9, 2013 at 6:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, February 9, 2013 at 1:30 a.m.

Charges were dropped against one of the men accused of slashing the tires of Thibodaux Police vehicles parked outside the department last year because the investigation was recently compromised, the district attorney said.

Glenn Watkins, 50, is no longer accused of 48 counts of property damage because “in the past month, the District Attorney’s Office received additional information about the investigation that compromised the Watkins case,” District Attorney Cam Morvant II said.

Morvant declined to detail what that information is or how it jeopardized the case.

“This was a decision I really had no choice in making,” he added.

The Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office headed the investigation, but Sheriff Craig Webre said there was no wrongdoing or mistakes made on the part of his investigators.

Asked if mistakes were made on the part of Thibodaux Police, Chief Scott Silverii would only say the Police Department was the victim in the crime and the Sheriff’s Office was the investigating authority.

“We were victims in the fact that the crime was perpetrated against the Police Department. The Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. The district attorney reviewed the charges, and that’s the process,” Silverii said.

Watkins’ charges were dropped Thursday when he appeared in Judge Jerome Barbera III’s courtroom.

Watkins was arrested in August 2011 with his nephew Jonathan Watkins. The two were accused of slashing dozens of patrol car tires in the city police headquarters’ parking lot on two separate occasions in May 2011. The damage totaled more than $7,000.

Jonathan Watkins pleaded guilty last April to 11 counts of property damage, a reduced charge from the 34 counts he was originally charged with. By the time prosecutors discovered the case was compromised, Jonathan Watkins was already out of prison on parole, Morvant said. However, he was brought back to court, and a judge reduced the felony charges on his record to misdemeanors because of the compromised investigation.

Glenn and Jonathan Watkins told investigators last year that Thibodaux Police Capt. Calvin Cooks paid them to slash the tires, but investigators with the Lafourche Sheriff’s Office said there was no evidence to support that.

Silverii and Thibodaux Mayor Tommy Eschete are defendants in a lawsuit claiming they schemed to ruin Cook’s career and reputation for political gain.

The suit alleges Silverii and other police officers concocted rumors implicating Cooks in the tire slashings.

Eschete has said the allegations are not true, and Silverii has said the claims are baseless.

Morvant said the case was not compromised because of the lawsuit.

Staff Writer Katie Urbaszewski can be reached at 448-7617 or katie.urbaszewski@dailycomet.com.

<p>Charges were dropped against one of the men accused of slashing the tires of Thibodaux Police vehicles parked outside the department last year because the investigation was recently compromised, the district attorney said.</p><p>Glenn Watkins, 50, is no longer accused of 48 counts of property damage because “in the past month, the District Attorney's Office received additional information about the investigation that compromised the Watkins case,” District Attorney Cam Morvant II said.</p><p>Morvant declined to detail what that information is or how it jeopardized the case.</p><p>“This was a decision I really had no choice in making,” he added.</p><p>The Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office headed the investigation, but Sheriff Craig Webre said there was no wrongdoing or mistakes made on the part of his investigators.</p><p>Asked if mistakes were made on the part of Thibodaux Police, Chief Scott Silverii would only say the Police Department was the victim in the crime and the Sheriff's Office was the investigating authority.</p><p>“We were victims in the fact that the crime was perpetrated against the Police Department. The Sheriff's Office conducted the investigation. The district attorney reviewed the charges, and that's the process,” Silverii said.</p><p>Watkins' charges were dropped Thursday when he appeared in Judge Jerome Barbera III's courtroom.</p><p>Watkins was arrested in August 2011 with his nephew Jonathan Watkins. The two were accused of slashing dozens of patrol car tires in the city police headquarters' parking lot on two separate occasions in May 2011. The damage totaled more than $7,000.</p><p>Jonathan Watkins pleaded guilty last April to 11 counts of property damage, a reduced charge from the 34 counts he was originally charged with. By the time prosecutors discovered the case was compromised, Jonathan Watkins was already out of prison on parole, Morvant said. However, he was brought back to court, and a judge reduced the felony charges on his record to misdemeanors because of the compromised investigation.</p><p>Glenn and Jonathan Watkins told investigators last year that Thibodaux Police Capt. Calvin Cooks paid them to slash the tires, but investigators with the Lafourche Sheriff's Office said there was no evidence to support that.</p><p>Silverii and Thibodaux Mayor Tommy Eschete are defendants in a lawsuit claiming they schemed to ruin Cook's career and reputation for political gain.</p><p>The suit alleges Silverii and other police officers concocted rumors implicating Cooks in the tire slashings.</p><p>Eschete has said the allegations are not true, and Silverii has said the claims are baseless.</p><p>Morvant said the case was not compromised because of the lawsuit.</p><p>Staff Writer Katie Urbaszewski can be reached at 448-7617 or katie.urbaszewski@dailycomet.com.</p>